Removable condenser unit for magnetos.



srnarron,

ings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part or this specification, I

This invention relates to improvements in magnetos and more pa ticularlypto that part o the magneto having to do with he coi denser. The function oa condenser, as is well known, is to protect the circuit'brealrer points of the instrument from injury by a heavy arc which would be caused if, when' the current is suddenly cut, the current is permitted to pass directly to ground instead of through a condenser. For this reason, condensers are of delicate construction and require accuracy in operation .and in adjustment, to properly coordinate with the magneto in use. ln my invention, make no claim to novelty in the construction of the condenser, per se, or in its use with a magneto, but to special features of arrangement, construction and location, as hereinu after set i'ertli.

lt is the practice to install condensers in the common type or" magnetos between the armature heads and in close proximity to the windings on the armature. ln what lis known as the rotary type of magneto, the condenser is installed within the are or the magnets, this location being necessitated to conform to the stationary windings which, in that type of magneto, are also contained within the arc of the magnets; the rotary type being that in which the windings are stationary in which the wingsldirecting the magnetic u'iux, revolve. lilith all types of magneto,-j in order to examine or to repair the condenser, it is necessary to taire the entireniagneto apart, ai'ter examination or repa lere is trie T FFICE,

CHICAS-, ILLINOIS.

` n UNIT FOR MAGNETGS.

Eatented Dec. 17, 1918.

of not putting it together again precisely as it was originally.

When a magneto is giving trouble, the repair man or, manufacturer will usually first. suspect the condenser and will disassemble the device to get at the condenser and examine it. lf it is good, he puts it back and loolrs for the trouble in some other part of the magneto. lf it is defective, he discards it and inserts a new condenser. This requires considerable dismantling of the magneto and condenser connection, even if only to examine and not to repair the condenser. Great delicacy and nicety of adjustment iS required either in restoring a condenser after examination or repair as well as when installing a new one..

lt is one of the principal objects of my invention therefore, to produce a construction of magneto wherein the condenser shall be located in such part of the device as will afford ready accessibility for examination or repair, and in which the condenser shall be removably located so as to permit of its easy removal and return without the necessity of dismantling the other parts of theimagneto or of exercising great care in its adjustment, and to thus obviate a serious defect in magneto construction at present very commonly existing.

f Condensers have inductive capacity, or

'the vability to absorb a certain amount of electric energyand temporarily retain it for use in the next cycle of the armature revolution and circuit breaker opening. It is fundamental, therefore, that the closer in point of location. this storage of electrical energy is brought to the point of discharge,-the more eflicient will be the inductive capacity to assist the function of the magneto. The closer a condenser is positioned with respect to the point where the arc may occur necessarily reduces the copper resistance and thus tends to promote the rapid discharge of current to the condenser as well as facilitate the use of the surplus or stored up current in the next cycle of the operation of the magneto.

The second, and equally important, object of my invention therefore, is to locate the condenser as closely "as possible to the circuit breaker of the magneto, without destroying its accessibility-for examination; thereby obviating the objections just statedl and promoting the eli'iciency of the device as a whole. y

These and other objects of the invention will be more fully comprehended as I proceed with my speciication.

In the drawingsze Figure l represents, in elevation, the spark advance end of a nia-gneto embodying my invention, a smally portion being'broken away. f

Fig. 2 is a side elevation the same.

. Fig. 3 is a partial frontzele'vation of the same, with the cover removed?, showing the circuit breaker housing and the circuit breaker also in elevation.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the condenser, removed.

Fig. 5 is a sectional, plan view of a part of the structure, taken Aupon the horizontal plane indicated by the dotted line 5-5 in Fig. 6. A L

Fig. 6 is a vertical, sectional view of a portion of the structure taken upon the plane indicated by the dotted line 6-6 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a portion of the magneto structure, with the coveiand the circuit breaker parts removed, showing the condenser in position in the circuit breaker housing.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the slotted connecting sleeve for the contact arm of the condenser.

Referring now to said drawings, the magneto structure as a whole is indicated at- A, that part of the frame or housing carrying the circuit breaker is indicated at B, the cover for this housing is indicated at C, and the spark advance lever at D. The cover C removably secured tothe housing :trame B at the top by a thin, washer-like clamp a placed over a suitable screw-threaded st ud projecting from the face of thel frame B and secured to said stud b v a lock nut The lower segment of the washer c enters a recess c in the top ot the cover C, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Nithin the housing B is a screw threaded bolt E, the free end of which projects through the cover C to receive. the locking nut e. A suitable sleeve c of rubber or other insulating material is located in the bolt aperture and surrounds the bolt E to protect it from contact with the cover C. The condenser as a whole is indicated at F.

-The circuit breaker housing B is a casting, L-shaped in general conformation. It

Lessico comprises a vertical wall 1 and alaterally projecting base orwall Q, an outwardly extending hub 3, and two relatively narrow vertically' arranged side walls l, 4. Two raised shoulders 51,-' 5, on the top surface of the base 2 extend, one oneach side, from the front margin of said base wall 2 to the vertical wall 1. The wall 1 of the housing B is thicker throughout its upper portion than in its lower portion, thus forming a sort of overhanging wall 6 above the bearing hub 3. It is also provided on each side near the side walls 4, 4, with suitable shoulders 7, 7, whereby a recess is formed between said shoulder and the inside tace of the side wall 4.

The cover C is of irregular shape, so that when placed upon the face ot the housing B, a substantial chamber or open space is inclosed by said cover and said housing within which the condenser F and the lcircuit breaker, indicated as a whole by the letter'G, may convenientlybe located, as more fully disclosed in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. As the circuit breaker, per se, is not herein claimed, the details of its construction are not material except to state, that it is operatively mounted upon the shaft positioned within and projecting from the hub 3, and has the usual circuit breaking points 8, 8 and a condenser contactcurved'arm 9.

Thebolt E is provided with a head 10 and this headed end is held and supported in a bracket 11, secured iirmly to the face of the wall l by screw bolts 12, 12, or other suitable means. l The bracket is properly insulated, rst by the insulating block of rubber 13 interposed between the bracket and said wall, and then by the insulating washers 1%, 14, located between the head of the bolts l2, 12, and the face of the bracket 11, as shown. The front end oi' this bolt E is held firmly to the casing C by thenut e.

The condenser F may be of any standard construction contained within a metallic hermetically sealed capsule or housing, to constitute a unitary structure, as shown in Fig. 4. ln this instance, it is of generally rectangular outline, of a height to nt nicely between shoulder 5 and the overhanging shoulder 6, of a width somewhat less than the width of the recess between 4the wall e and the shoulder 7, and of a length to tit nicely between the front ot' the wall 1 and the back of the casing C. Secured to the inside face of the shell or casing 'of the condenser is a curved spring arm 15, the outer or free end of which will have frictional bearing against the'shoulder T when the consoY denser is seated in its home position, the y weaves tioned,'as illustratedin Figs. 3, 5, 6 and 7, inthe left hand side oit the circuit breaker chamber, it will be securely held in such position first by its nice frictional contact 5'With the parts just mentioned, of the housing B and cover C, and secondly by the spring arm and also by the brace plate 20. A conducting strip or contact arm 16 of copper or other suitable metal, projects laterally from the condenser and is suiiciently ,long to reach therefrom to and to have contact bearing against the circuit breaker con- -tact arm 9. In order to'hold this 'arm 16 in proper operative relation, it is passed 15. through a. guide slot 17 in a tubular sleeve 18 positioned upon the bolt E. A bushing 19 of 'insulating material is also positioned upon the bolt E and upon the bolt, between said bushing 19 and the slotted sleeve 18 is a metallic brace or bar-20, the end of AWhich 'has frictional bearing against the inner face of the condenser capsule. This strip 20 assists in steadving and holding the condenser in its operative position.

It will ibe noted that the condenser is thus located in close proximity tothe point in the magneto Where the arc might occur, thus reducing the copper resistance detrimental to a rapid discharge of the current, to a minimum. It will also be manifest that by reason of the location of the condenser in close proximity to the=point o' discharge, the inductive capacity. of the cendenserto absorb a certain amount of electric energy and to edectively discharge the same to assist in the functioning ot the magneto,

will be materially increased.

' It Willfalso be noted that the condenser in use Will-be held firmly in its operative i 40 position and yet that it is easily and quicklyT removable orinspection, test, repair or replacement. It is only necessary to remove the cover C and then to remove the insulatq ing bushing 19 and the brace bar 20, in order the spring arm 15 readily yielding to release the inner end of the condenser from the recess .between the shoulder 7 and the Wall e..

Likewise,it will be understood that the repositioning of the condenser in operative position is a simple and quick operation and does not requirel nice adjustment,-proper adjustment being automatically attained upon pressing the condenser home and then 5 replacing the brace bar 20 and the bushing 19 and locking the cover C in proper position. The device is thus, in a sense, foolproof, always'ready for effective operation.

While slight modifications and changes may be suggested by the mechanic Without departing from the lprinciple of my invention, all of. which I claim Within the scope thereof, I nevertheless recommend the' form to slip the condenser out of its position,-

said bolt..

of embodimenaot the invention herein illustrated and described as a Apreferred 'form of demonstrated practical utility in use.

claim as my invention:

1. A magneto comprising a 'frame member carrying a circuit breaker, a cover for said trame member and a condenser unit removably positioned Within said trame member and cover and in operative relation to the circuit breaker.

2. A magneto comprising a frame' member carrying a circuit breaker, a cover for said frame, a condenser unit yieldingly held Within said frame and cover in operative relation with the circuit breaker and remov= able as a unit when the cover is removed from the frame.

3. A magneto comprising a frame member carrying a circuit breaker, a cover for said trame member and a condenser unit removably positioned Within said frame member cover and in operative relation to the circuit breaker, a bracket secured to and insulated from the frame member, a bolt carried by said bracket and extending to the cover, and insulated means Ji'or securing the bolt to the cover.

d. Avmagneto comprising a iframe member at one end, a circuit breaker 'supported thereon in operative relation to the magneto, a cover for said frame member, a condenser unit removably positioned with the frame member and cover, and a metallic conductor arm secured to the condenser unit and adapted to contact With the circuit breaker. 5. A magneto comprising a frame member at one end, a circuit breaker supported there-ou in operative relation to the magneto, a cover for said frame member, a condenser unit removably positioned Within the trame member and cover, a metallic conductor arm secured to the condenser unit and adapted to contact with the circuit breaker, a bracket secured to and insulated from the frame member, a bolt carried by said bracket and extending to the cover, insulated means for securing the bolt to 4the cover and guiding means on the bolt for the conductor arm.

6. 'A magneto comprising a frame member at one end, a circuit breaker supported thereon in operative relation to the magneto, a cover for said frame member, a condenser unit removably positioned within the frame member and cover, a metallic conductor arm secured to the condenser unit and adapted to contact with the circuit breaker, a bracket secured to and insulated from the frame member, bolt carried by said bracket and extending' to the cover, insulated, means 'for securing the bolt to the cover, guiding means on the boltor the-conductor arm, said means comprising a slotted sleeve on "L ln a magneto equipped With a removable condenser unit rectangular 1n shapeil a .freine member having a circuit breaker supported thereon and operatively connected with the magneto, opposing top and bottom surfaces on said frame member adapted to support opposing surfaces of the condenser unit, a side Wall on the frame member, a shoulder on the frame member opposite said side wall and at a diste-nce removed Irhererom greater than the thickness of the condenser unit, and resilient", means on the unit adapted to Contact with seidvslloulder and hold the eenclenser unit removably locked against said side Well. l

ln testimony bliet I claim the foregoing as my invention l ex my sigialbure in the presence of two Witnesses, this 19th day of August A. ll 1918.

JOHN F. o. srrne'ironf.

Witnesses:

Terme E. BROWN, BERTHA L. MACGREGOR. 

